Casting plant



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D. BAKER.

CASTING PLANT.

No. 602,614. Patented Apr..19, 1898.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. D. BAKER.

CASTING PLANT. No. 602,614. Patented Apr. 19, 1898.

WITNESSES myw lJNiTED STATES PATENT EEicE,

DAVID BAKER, OF SPARROWS POINT, MARYLAND.

CASTING PLANT.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 602,614, dated April19, 1898.

Application filed July 3, 1897. Serial No. 643,356. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that 1, DAVID BAKER, of Sparrows Point, county of Baltimore,and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement inCasting Plants, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to an improved casting plant, the aim beingto provide for the handling of' large quantities of metal at a minimumexpense and a minimum loss of material in scrap.

\Vith these ends in view my plant comprehends an improved constructionand arrangement of a traveling receptacle or ladle adapted to hold aquantity of molten metal, a bed or beds of molds in which the metal ispoured, and a receiving trough or receptacle into which the casting pigsor ingots are discharged from the molds. While in the trough, thecastings may be sprayed to cool them, and they are finally dischargedinto cars for removal.

The invention further consists in various details of construction andarrangement of parts directed to simplicity, efiectiveness in operation,and the rapid and economical handling of large quantities of metal.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improvedplant. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is afront elevation of the same as viewed in the direction of the arrow inFig. 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the mechanismfor tilting the moldbeds to discharge the castings. Fig. 5 is anelevation, on an enlarged scale, of the mechanism for operating thehinged leaf to discharge the castings into the receiving-cars.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a track on which a truck 2,carrying a ladle or receptacle 3 for the molten metal, is adapted totravel. Adjacent to this track and below the level of the same areerected vertical columns 4, from which is supported a series ofhorizontal mold-beds 5 in such position that the molten metal may bepoured into the molds as the ladle is moved along its track. Below themold-beds receiving troughs or platforms 6 are supported, into which thecastings from the molds are delivered and from which they are dischargedinto cars 7 or other receptacles, adapted to move on a track 8 beneaththe trough. This track may lead to a point where the cars may beunloaded and may return to its starting-point beneath the trough bymeans of a track 9, extending at the opposite side of the track 1, asplainly shown in Fig. 1.

The ladle 3 is so mounted on its truck that it may be tipped on ahorizontal longitudinal axis, it being provided on opposite sides withtrunnions 10, mounted in front and rear bearings 12 on the truck. Theforward trunnion is extended beyond its bearing, at which point it isprovided with a worm-wheel 14c, engaged by a worm 15 on a shaft 16,mounted in bearings at the forward end of the truck. This shaft isextended at one end beyond the truck, where it is formed to bedetachably connected to ashaft 17, extending in line with the shaft 16and mounted on a motor-car 18, coupled to the truck and adapted, as morefully described hereinafter, to move the same back and forth along thetrack. The shaft 1'7 is provided with a pinion 19, which is connected bya train of gearing 20 to an electromotor 21, governed by a suitablecontroller 22, mounted on the front of the car. By means of' this motorand connecting-gearing described the worm may be revolved, so as torotate the ladle on its trunnions in order to discharge its contents tofill the molds.

The car 18 is driven by a second electromotor 23, geared to the axles inany appropriate manner and governed by a suitable controller 24: locatedadjacent to the other controller, so that both mechanisms can beoperated by a single attendant on the car.

The two electric motors referred to may receive their current from anysource of electric supplysuch, for instance, as a storage-battery 50,located on the'car 18 or a current derived from a dynamo located at adistance, as is usual in electric railways.

By theapparatus described the attendant is enabled to move the ladleback and forth at the side of the mold-beds and cause the metal to bepoured into the molds at any point and with uniformity and precision.When the ladle is turned on its trunnions by the means described, themolten metal is received in a pouring-spout 25, sustained at the sideof'the. truck and slightly below the level of the same by an arm 26,connected at its forward end rigidly to the motor -car.

This spout has its mouth extended laterally rearward and arranged overthe center of the mold-beds, so that the molten metal received from theladle will flow from the mouth of the spout to the molds as themotor-car moves the ladle-truck slowly along its track.

The mold-beds 5 before alluded to are arranged end to end at the side ofthe track slightly below its level, and each bed is provided with aseries of non-communicating mold-cells 27 on its opposite sides and hasformed on its ends trunnions 28, mounted in bearings sustained bygirder-frames 29, which extend at intervals horizontally from beneaththe track 1 and the columns 4 before alluded to, the construction beingsuch that the moldbed may be turned on a horizontal longitudinal axis todischarge the castings contained in the cells on one side, thus bringinginto position the opposite cells. The mold-beds are turned by means of alever 30, mounted loosely at one end on one of the trunnions 28 andcarrying a spring-pawl 31, which engages a ratchet-wheel 82, fixed tosaid trunnion. The other end of the lever is jointed to a pitman 33,which is extended inward and has its rear end jointed to a horizontalsliding head 34, mounted in guides 35 on the under side of thegirder-frame 29. This sliding head is in turn connected to the end of apiston-rod 36, carrying a piston working in a hydraulic cylinder 37,fixed to the under side of the girder-frame beyond the guides. Therelative size and arrangement of these parts are such that for everystroke of the piston the spring-pawl engaging the ratchet-Wheel willturn the mold-bed a quarter-revolution, the first stroke moving the bedto an upright position and the second stroke turning the mold-bedcompletely around, thereby discharging the castings and bringing theopposite cells into position to receive a supply of metal. It will beunderstood, of course, that the invention in this respect in not limitedto the mechanism described for turning the mold-beds, as the same issusceptible of various modifications, and other means for the purposesuch as would suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art may beemployed.

The troughs 6, before alluded to, into which the castings are dischargedfrom the moldbeds, each consists of a downward-sloping floor 38,projecting from the columns at beneath the girder-frames and rigidlysustained by diagonal braces 39, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. This floorhas arranged on its lower edge a leaf 40, adapted to be held in anupwardly-inclined position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, in whichposition it will form a trough in connection with the downwardlyslopingfloor, and also adapted to be adjusted to a downwardly-inclinedposition, as shown in dotted lines in said figure, in which position itwill form a continuation of the sloping floor and will allow thecastings to slide by gravity thereover into the car or other re ceptacleor track beneath. For controlling the movement of this leaf I pivot toits edge the lower ends of one or more rods ll, which are extendedvertically and have their upper ends pivoted to arms 42, fixedtoahorizontal rock-shaft 43, mounted in bearings 44, sustained by thegirder-frames. The rock-shaft at one end has fixed to it a crank-arm 45,to which is connected one end of a pitman 46, which extends transverselyof the rock-shaft and has its opposite end connected to a sliding head47, mounted in guides on the girderframe. The sliding head is connectedto a piston-rod -18, carrying a piston working in a hydraulic cylinder49, also fixed to the girderframe. By means of this cylinder and theconnections described the forward stroke of the piston will lower thevertical rods 41 and the leaf connected to them, which will permit thecastings to be discharged. The movement of the piston in the oppositedirection will lift the rods and the leaf connected to them to theposition indicated by full lines in Fig. 2, so that the leaf willform,in connection with the sloping floor, a trough to hold the casting.

Before the discharge of the castings from the troughs it is desirablethat they be cooled, and to conveniently accomplish this I extendbeneath the girder-frame a water-pipe 50, having perforations in itsunder side through which the water may be sprayed on the cast ings lyingin the trough beneath.

The operation of my improved plant is as follows: The ladle being filledwith molten metal from the furnace, the motor-car and truck are startedat one end of the track, and the attendant, by means of the motors,causes the ladle to be tipped on its trunnions, thereby filling thepouringspout with molten metal. The motor-earthen moves slowly over thetrack, carrying the ladle and pouringspout along,and the metal flowsfrom the pouringspout into the successive mold cells. When the cellshave all been filled and the metal hardened, the piston of the hydrauliccylinder 37 is operated and the mold-bed turned completely over, therebydischarging the casting into the trough beneath and bringing theopposite cells into position to receive a supply of metal. The castingsin the trough are subjected to the action of the coolingspray from thepipe 50, and when sufficiently cooled the piston of the hydrauliccylinder 49 is operated, by which the leaf 4:0 is lowered, therebydischarging the castings into the cars beneath. These operations may berepeated without interruption by the mechanism described. I

By providing a series of mold-beds arranged end to end, as described,with means for tipping them independently it will beseen that the bedsmay be successively filled, and by the time those at the end of the linehave been filled the others have had time to harden and may be tipped todischarge the castings and the opposite cells brought into position andready to receive a supply of metal from the ladle, which in the meantimewill have been returned to the head of the line. The operation maytherefore be continuous, the ladle filling the cells in one bed whilethose previously filled are tilted to discharge the castings. In thisway large quantities of metal may be handled with regularity, economy,and with little loss of scrap, all of which are items of importance tobe considered in the practical operation of casting plants.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a castingplant the combination with a mold-bed, of a truck adapted to traveladjacent to the same, a ladle or receptacle for the molten metal mountedon said truck, a motor-car coupled to the truck and adapted to propelthe same, and a pouring-spout sustained by the motor-car in position toreceive the metal from the ladle and deliver the same to the molds.

2. In a casting plant the combination with a mold-bed of a truck adaptedto travel adjacent to the same, a tilting ladle mounted on said truck, amotor-car coupled to the truck, mechanism located on the car forpropelling the same, a second mechanism located on the motor-carindependent of the propelling mechanism and suitable connections betweenthe second mechanism and the tilting ladle whereby asingle operatorisenabled by the two mechanisms to move the ladle toany point of themold-bed and to operate the tilting ladle independently to fill anydesired mold.

3. In a casting plant the combination with a mold-bed and means foroperating the same to discharge the casting, of means for filling themolds with molten metal, a downwardlysloping platform in position toreceive the castings from the mold-bed, a leaf hinged to the lower edgeof the platform and mechanism for adjusting said leaf to form a troughin connection with the platform to retain the castings; or a slopingcontinuation of the same to discharge the castings.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand, this 24th day of June, 1897in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

DAVID BAKER.

Witnesses:

GEO. I-I. W001), TROW WOODRUFF.

